Sutphin Boulevard
So many feelz. So good. Full review to come.August 1 update:
It's here! This book full of feelz has arrived! I want everyone to read it immediately. Michael and Nunzio are fantastic friends to lovers. While the writing for it seems on the wall, Michael is really the guy stuck in his own head and family bullshit. And that's some deep shit. There's a LOT of family disfunction, and he's still very much not dealing with it at the start of this book.
More than a relationship story, this book is Michael's story. It's the point in his life where he's confronted with HIS LIFE. It's happening in front of him and all around him, but he's not making choices or controlling what's next. I like that about this book. I like that it's not told where some big thing happens, and it all comes to a head. There's living day-to-day and the things that happen in a person's life that he can ignore (which Michael is good at) and things he can't (which send Michael off into Bad Choices).
Through all of this, there's Nunzio. He's the bestie who so clearly loves Michael. The story is told from Michael's POV, but readers can feel the love radiating from Nunzio. And the hurt. Man, does that guy get hurt. It makes me want to kick Michael in the shins. So. Hard.
So why 4 instead of 5 stars? My own personal connections with family stuff played a role in that, to be fair. I don't love how Michael reacts to some of the situations, and I couldn't tell if that was me or if it didn't feel true to the story. The fact that I felt so much whether it was passion, rage, or frustration means Santino wrote a kickass book. That the family dynamics irked the hell out of me is my reader thing.
I hadn't read any of Santino's previous works, and I don't think they're my bag. Five Boroughs? I'll be reading ALL of them as quickly as I possibly can.
